Left 4 Dead: One Man's Survival
by Hahadude
Summary: In a city falling apart, one man fights desperately for survival and soon encounters an unlikely ally that will change his life forever. WitchxOC. Next Chapter coming up during Christmas. Too busy in real life right now.
1. Chapter 1: Freedom

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or Infected from Left 4 Dead. They belong to Valve. However, I own all the characters that do not exist in the Left 4 Dead universe, such as Vincent.

Author's Note: This is my very first story. Reviews would be much appreciated, as would comments on how to improve this story. I will create a new chapter about every week or two.

_Chapter 1: Freedom_

A man sat down on the couch and lazily turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels, until he came across the news. The man leaned forward and listened. "CEDA has reported that the "Green Flu" virus is continuing to spread rapidly across the country_,"_ the woman on the TV said in a worried tone. "They have not released any other information, except to wash your hands, barricade your homes, avoid contact with any infected individuals, and to wait for further instructions. Right now, the police behind me are evacuating the civil- AAAAAAAARGH!"

A shriek sounded and a hooded figure jumped onto the woman and begun clawing at her. The camera fumbled, fell to the ground and a screen saying "We are experiencing technical difficulties." popped up.

The man sat up with a sigh, "I knew this day would come. The day where the world begins to end and we become an endangered species... This is a blessing. This is the day that grants us freedom. We have nothing to worry about now except for survival, and I am prepared to survive. I, Vincent, am not ready to go down without a fight..."

Vincent looked out of his apartment window to see the streets littered with cars and people wandering around, panicking, trying to call for help on their cell phones. He turned and got out a backpack from a closet. Vincent checked to make sure he had everything he would need. As soon as he heard of the "Green Flu" virus, he knew something was terribly wrong. He immediately had went out and bought everything in case this would happen. Vincent also went to the closet and got out an Auto Shotgun, several pistols, combat knives, and two magnums. He put the pistols into the backpack and again made sure everything was inside. Flashlights, clothes, watches, batteries, snacks, candy bars, bags of chips, bottles of water and soda, and most important of all, ammunition. Vincent knew that his backpack wouldn't be able to store large guns like shotguns and automatic weapons, but he could stock up on ammo so he could use those guns if he ever found them. "I figure I'll have enough snacks to survive for a few weeks or so." he thought.

He picked up the shotgun, holstered the magnums, and turned to leave his apartment. He looked back upon it one more time. The apartment had been his home for about six years now. And now, he was about to leave it forever. He had to leave the city. This place was no longer safe. Vincent sighed, and left the building. He took the stairs down, opened the door to outside, and found the street completely devoid of people. "Strange, there were a lot of people here earlier..." Vincent thought worriedly. He walked down the street cautiously. He rounded the street corner and saw a man with his back towards him. "Hey, are you all right man?" Vincent called out.

The man, if he could be called that, turned around and screamed at him. His flesh was a sickly gray color and he had blood on his mouth. He ran up to Vincent and began beating him. The man knocked Vincent on the ground and continued beating him. "Aaagh, what the fuck is your problem!" hissed Vincent.

Vincent shoved the man off of him and leveled his shotgun at the man's chest. The man ran towards him and Vincent fired a single shotgun shell at him. The man's chest exploded, showing body parts and blood all over the street and onto Vincent. "Ah yuck." gasped Vincent.

He wiped off some of the blood off of his clothes and continued down the street. He came across a McDonalds and saw a man running away. "Hey, wait up!" yelled Vincent.

He ran as fast as he could and when he caught up to the man, he was panting. "What are you running from?" Vincent questioned.

"Just get the fuck out of the way!" screamed the man and took off faster than ever.

Vincent turned around and saw about thirty figures running towards him, all with the same sickly gray flesh as the man he killed earlier. Vincent ran for his life, firing his shotgun as he went. Soon, his shotgun belched its last shot and there were still plenty of them after him. Vincent held his shotgun with one hand, drew one of his magnums, and continued firing. The mob went down after his magnum had also belched out its last round. Vincent panted, and wiped some of the sweat off of his face. He then paused to reload his shotgun and magnum and then continued on. He then found the man that was running earlier, leaning against a car.

"My coworkers, they were all infected!" he yelled. "My god, I still remember. They fell down, their skin, OH GOD! Then they got up, started towards me. They almost got me..."

The man broke into sobs. Vincent noticed his flesh was turning gray, and his stomach started swelling up. "OH GOD WHAT'S HAPPENIN- NNNNGGH AAAAAAAH!" cried the man, louder than ever.

Vincent pulled out his shotgun. The man got up, with very noticeable differences. His face was covered with blobs of gray flesh and his stomach was extremely big and bloated.

"Blah, blah, BLAAAAAAH!" gurgled the bloated man and vomited upon him.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING." yelled Vincent as a green smelly substance sprayed all over him, blinding him.

Vincent heard a scream and through the thick vomit, he saw more infected running towards him. Vincent fired his shotgun as fast as he could, but many of the infected reached him and beat him to the ground. He felt pain lancing throughout his body. He quickly kicked off all the infected on him and fired the rest of his shotgun shells at them. The bloated man was preparing to vomit at him again, but Vincent didn't give him a chance he quickly shoved him back and quickly pulled out his magnum and fired a single round. The man exploded, leaving only his little legs behind. If it wasn't so dangerous, Vincent would've laughed. He got up and and wiped the rest of the green substance off his clothes. Vincent left the parking lot and went into the McDonald he had passed earlier. The place was a utter mess. There were dead bodies everywhere, some human, some infected. He went into the back, and saw the kitchen door was made of red steel. "I could stay here for a bit." Vincent muttered. Luckily, the steel door was unlocked. He went in and saw a bar on the floor. He put the bar backed on the door so no infected could get him. He saw two dead bodies in the kitchen, one human, one infected. The human body was holding a note. Vincent picked up the note and read it.

_My dear sweet Samantha,_

_Work down at the McDonald has taken a turn for the worse. We're holed up in the kitchen; me, Bob and Will. This sickness...it's no flu. Apparantly, this sickness causes us to turn into something similar to...zombies._

_Earlier today, Bob decided to go out and find some help. He never returned. It's been three days. Me and Will have been surviving on the burgers in here. Soon, Will complained of a stomachache. I tried to comfort him, but I noticed his skin was turning gray. He knew he was going to become one of them and asked me to end his life. I...I did and now I'm the only one left in here.  
_

_I hope this note somehow gets to you, because you'll need to hear what I have heard if you want to survive. These infected, there are many different types. One is a extremely fat individual that vomits some sick green substance all over you and causes other infected to come after you._

"So that's what's the man turned into." Vincent thought. He continued reading.

_Another is a zombie in a hoodie. Do not underestimate this one, he will jump on you and claw out your innards until you are dead._

"That's probably what mauled that woman on the news..." muttered Vincent.

_There are a few more I need you to know about. One is a tall individual which generates a cloud of smoke. He uses a really long...well how should I say it, tongue, to grab you and claw you to death. This next one scares the living hell out of me. How should I describe how he looks like...well...He looks like the Incredible Hulk. It's pretty obvious what he can do. But the most dangerous, my god...Whatever you do, do not follow the sound of crying. Oh god, the infected! They're trying to break through the door! The bar just came off! It looks like this is the end of me. Goodbye, my beloved._

_Your loving husband,_

_Jake_

Vincent gave a moment of a silence to Jake's body and put the note into his backpack. He was hungry and searched the kitchen for food. He found several burgers, sat down, and started eating one. He also found a bottle of cola and drank from it. The taste was refreshing, considering what he went through today. "I'll stay here for a day or so..." thought Vincent. He packed the other burgers into his backpack. He took out a watch from his backpack and checked the time. It was 6:42 P.M. Vincent saw something of interest near the stove. It looked like an explosive, shaped like a long stick, and looked to be crudely and hastily made. "If this is an explosive, it might come in handy later." he remarked. He put it down next to him and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Survival

Author's Note: Well here's chapter 2! I will try to post a new chapter once every week. If I get enough positive reviews, I'll post a new chapter more often.

_Chapter 2: Survival  
_

Vincent took a drink out of a bottle of soda then put it into his backpack. He checked the time. It was 10:42 P.M. Cautiously, he opened the safe room door at the back of the kitchen. The door led to an alley with a few infected. To the left was a dead end. Vincent quietly knocked several of them out before some of them noticed him and started running towards him. "Ah shit." grumbled Vincent.

He backed up against the wall at the end of the alley and dumped several shotgun shells on them. After they were all dead, Vincent slowly walked out of the alley. He then heard a growl. Vincent pointed his gun to the left, then to the right. "That's strange, no one's there." he thought.

The growling got louder. Vincent slowly looked up and saw a hooded figure on top of the building across from him. With a snarl, the figure leaped towards him. "HOLY-" gasped Vincent as he quickly brought up his shotgun and fired like hell.

The figure landed in front of him, dead. Vincent examined the body and saw the claws and the lack of eyes on its face. He sighed a breath of relief. "If that guy had gotten me..." he mumbled to himself.

Vincent heard the sounds of a horde coming and quickly reloaded his shotgun. The horde came out of the alley by the building the hooded figure was on. Vincent waited for them to charge him, then fired until his shotgun ran out of ammo. He had gotten most of them, but about three were still charging him. Vincent pulled out a magnum and calmly shot each one in the head. He quickly reloaded his shotgun then holstered his magnum. Suddenly, he saw some helicopters in the air. They were flying towards the skyscraper in the distance. "Hmm, maybe they're evacuating people over there." Vincent said to himself.

He walked down the street in the direction of the skyscraper, keeping his gun close to him. After about five minutes of silence, he saw people running towards the direction of the skyscraper while some police officers were blocking off parts of the street. "What's going on here?" Vincent asked a nearby officer."It's not going to be long until this place is overrun. We're cutting off the street to delay them for as long as possible. You better get yourself to the evacuation center at that skyscraper over there." replied the officer.

Just as the officer finished his sentence, a car flew towards them in the air. Vincent quickly dove to the side to avoid being hit. The officer wasn't so lucky. The car turned him into a mass of blood and meat. Vincent stood up and saw the remaining officers firing at a horde. There was something big at the back of the horde, but Vincent couldn't tell what it was. He quickly ran off with the other people towards the skyscraper. He saw most of them were unarmed, but a few had pistols. Vincent ran with the mass of people until they came to a grinding halt. They had ran towards a horde. He saw several more of the hooded figures, like the one he killed earlier, pounce on people and began ripping them to shreds. Quickly, Vincent looked around and saw another alley. He left the people to deal with the horde and ran into the alley. It was empty, save for a single infected which Vincent knocked out with the butt of his shotgun. He turned around the corner and walked slowly, ignoring the screams of the people. As Vincent neared the end of the alley, he saw an infected staring at him across the street.

This infected was different from all the others Vincent had met. It was taller and skinnier than all the other infected he had encountered and it had a long tongue protruding out of its mouth... At least that's what Vincent thought it was. It seemed to generate its own cloud of dark smoke. The infected saw him, and Vincent felt the long tongue wrap around him tightly and felt himself being dragged towards the infected. "FUCK! I AIN'T GOING DOWN LIKE THIS." he screamed. Vincent managed to regain part of his balance and did something the infected never expected him to do. He ran and charged head-first into the infected. Stars buzzed around him, but Vincent also felt the tongue loosening its grip enough for Vincent to aim his shotgun at the infected's head. He fired and it exploded a cloud of smoke. Vincent coughed, but he started laughing. "Take that...you zombie bastard..." he managed to wheeze out.

Leaving behind the body, Vincent continued down the street in the direction of the skyscraper. The screams were most distant now, but it soon stopped. "Must mean they're all dead." Vincent thought. He heard some more screaming, but this one sounded inhuman. He turned around and saw the horde that the people ran into earlier charging at him. Vincent realized he still had that bomb-looking device from the McDonald he stayed in earlier. He took it out. "I hope this thing is really a bomb." he whispered to himself.

Vincent threw the device at the horde. It made a beeping sound as it went. The device landed somewhere behind the horde and Vincent saw all of them running towards it. The beeping grew more intense, then he saw an explosion. None of the infected were left standing. The blast radius had taken all of them. Vincent laughed. "I hope I find more of those." he grinned. He started running towards the skyscraper again.

Fifteen minutes passed. Vincent panted in exhaustion, but he was not far from the skyscraper now. There was only one road separating him from the building It was littered with many cars. Vincent crossed through them. He then saw a military Humvee. "Hmm there must be something inside there." he thought.

Vincent opened the back of the Humvee and found some more ammo for his shotgun and two more of those explosives, which he put into his backpack. There were also many different guns there and something more interesting. "OH...MY...GOD..." he gasped.

There was a RPG launcher in the Humvee. "Too bad I can't carry it with my other things." Vincent sighed sadly.

He heard more screaming, which means a horde was coming for him. Vincent turned around and saw the biggest horde he has ever seen coming towards him. "There must be at least almost a hundred coming towards me..." he grumbled.

He saw some of the infected being flung aside. "What is that?" he wondered.

Vincent saw a huge gorilla looking like infected coming towards him. Vincent gasped, "Holy shit, zombie on steroids. My guns are all but useless against that..."

His eyes lit up with an idea. He quickly pulled out the RPG launcher from the truck and aimed it at the tank of an infected. He waited for it to close in a few more feet, then pulled the trigger. Vincent fell back as the missile flew towards the tank. There was a huge blinding explosion. Vincent covered his eyes. When it faded, he saw that the tank-like infected had been blown to chunks. The explosion had also taken out at least a third of the horde that had been charging towards him. The infected stood there as if dumbfounded for a second, then resumed charging. Vincent quickly looked in the Humvee and found a machine gun. He picked it up, grunting from the weight and aimed it at the horde. He let loose a barrage of bullets and never stopped holding the trigger until every single one fell. The last one fell right before Vincent heard a *click*.

He dropped the gun and walked towards the building. Three helicopters flew away from it, but he was sure there was another one up there. He opened the door to the building. There were many people inside. There were people lined up in front of the elevator, so it was still working for now. There were also a few police officers trying to keep the people calm as they evacuated. Everyone stared at him for a second, then resumed what they were doing when they noticed he wasn't infected. He sat down in a chair away from everyone else. The line was long, and Vincent didn't feel like standing around all day. He decided to use the stairs to get to the top of the building, but before he reached them, a officer blocked his way. "Sorry pal, but if you want to evacuate, you got to get in line like everyone else." he said.

"Bullshit, why can't I take the stairs?" Vincent replied back in frustration.

The officer replied in a harsh tone, "Because I said you can't. Now get in line like everyone else."

He shoved Vincent away hard. Vincent stared back with fiery anger in his eyes, but he sat back down. He quickly checked the ammo on his shotgun and magnums, then pulled out a wrapped burger and started eating it. "Might as well eat right now while I got a chance." he thought to himself.

When he finished the burger about halfway, he heard screaming. A woman, bleeding terribly, ran in panicking. "THEY'RE COMING! THEY'RE COMING!" she screamed. The people started panicking and banged on the doors on the elevator. The officers moved in to try to calm them down, but to no avail. Vincent looked out the window and saw a horde coming towards the building. Vincent saw that the officer that blocked his way earlier was too busy trying to calm the crowd to notice him. Vincent quickly ran to the stairs just as soon as the horde reached the building and broke through the glass.

He saw not one, but three of those tank-like infected enter the building. Vincent quickly absorbed his shock and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. He was about halfway up the building when he looked down and saw some of the infected entering the stairs. Vincent took out one of the explosives he had and dropped it all the way to the bottom. He didn't have time to watch the explosion and quickly continued up.

After about five minutes of running he reached the roof. There was one last helicopter, but it was already taking off. He saw it was empty, except for the pilot who was a middle-aged looking man. "WAIT! WAIT!" Vincent screamed at the top of his lungs.

He quickly ran towards the helicopter and jumped up to try and reach it but it was just out of his reach. "Sorry kid, you should have gotten here earlier." the pilot laughed evilly.

Vincent screamed in anger. He pulled out the other explosive he had gotten from the Humvee. "FUCK...YOU!" Vincent roared.

He threw the explosive and it landed in the helicopter. Vincent dove behind cover and saw the pilot look behind him just as it blew up. The explosion set the helicopter ablaze and it crashed into the streets below. Vincent looked down and saw the wreckage. He also saw many, many infected surrounding the building. He turned around and heard banging. The infected were already up here with him, trying to break down the rooftop door. "Well... say hello to your worst nightmare, you zombie bastards." Vincent said with a tight grin.

The infected burst through the door and Vincent fired his shotgun.


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets

Author's Note: Well here's chapter 3. To all readers, read and review as the feedback will allow me to make my story better.

Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead. I only own the character Vincent.

_Chapter 3: Secrets_

Vincent continued backing up while firing his shotgun. The infected continued climbing endlessly out of the staircase. As soon as he heard the distinct "dead man's click", he dropped his shotgun and pulled out both of his magnums and continued to fire_. _Soon after, the infected were gone, at least for the moment. Vincent sighed a breath of relief, and took the opportunity to reload his shotgun. He looked around for a means of escape from the rooftop. He couldn't go down the staircase; it was too narrow and the infected would overwhelm him. He heard a coughing sound and looked around. He then saw the familiar long tongue of one of those "special" infected on the rooftop of the building next to the one he was on. Quickly, a idea formed in his mind. "You want me, you son of a bitch? Then come get me!" taunted Vincent.

The infected waste no time in wrapping its tongue around Vincent. Vincent quickly spread out his arms so it would be free when the infected pulled him. The tall, lanky infected tugged hard and Vincent flew across between the buildings and landed on the rooftop the infected was on. Before the infected could claw at him, Vincent aimed his shotgun at its face. "So long you retard." he grinned.

Vincent fired a single shell and it exploded in blood and gore. He pulled off the tongue around his waste. He heard the screams of the infected on the building he was on just a few seconds ago. Quickly, he grabbed his backpack and shotgun and went down the stairs. About two minutes later, he abruptly stopped. The staircase below him was completely destroy. "Great, so now how do I get down?" Vincent muttered in frustration.

He looked around, and saw a door behind him. He opened it and found himself staring at a long hallway. "Hmph this must be a hotel." he thought.

Cautiously, Vincent walked down the hallway, shotgun at the ready, in case any infected burst through any of the doors. Luckily, for once it was quiet. He soon turned to the right and saw some elevators. Vincent groaned, "Oh god, elevators. I hate elevators. They're never safe in a goddamn zombie apocalypse. But it's the only way down so..."

He pushed the elevator button. A light dinged to show it was coming. Vincent soon heard the elevator grind to a halt. The door opened, and a bunch of infected popped out. "Oh you've got to be kidding." Vincent said angrily.

They rushed at him, threatening to overwhelm him, but Vincent leveled his shotgun and fired several shells into the horde. However, one of them managed to knock his gun away and the rest surged forward. Vincent felt many hands pounding him, clawing at him. Blackness crept around his eyes. He managed to pull out one of his magnums and fired blindly. Some of the pain faded, and he saw there were only three infected left that were clawing him. Vincent swept his leg and tripped the three infected. Quickly, he got up and ended each of their lives with a single bullet to the head.

The elevator door began to close. Vincent quickly grabbed his shotgun and dove inside before it closed completely. He sighed, got up, and pressed the button for the first floor. Vincent enjoyed the few moments of calm by taking out a bottle of water and drank it. The elevator hit the first floor after he finished it. "I bet there's going to be something waiting for me outside..." he thought.

As if to confirm his suspicions, the door opened and one of those hooded infected leaped onto him and began clawing at him. Vincent felt a pain unlike anything he ever felt before. "GET...THE FUCK...OFF!" he screamed. He managed to knee the infected, hard. The infected rolled off, and Vincent punched it in the face. He pounded it over and over until there was no strength left in him. The infected laid a bloody mess in front of him. Vincent breathed in exhaustion before wiping off the blood on his fists. "I've got to do something about these wounds." he sighed as he examined how bad the infected had clawed him.

Vincent got up and limped out of the elevator. He looked around, and saw a first-aid kit mounted on the wall. Vincent managed to grin, "Looks like my luck is beginning to turn."

He took the first-aid kit on the wall and opened it. He took off his shirt, grabbed a wet towel from it and cleaned up where the brutally fast infected had clawed him, then wrapped some gauze around his chest. Vincent heard the screams of the infected when he finished putting his shirt back on. They were right outside the building, pounding on the glass. "It's not going to hold long." Vincent realized.

The infected burst through and Vincent fired his shotgun. He managed to see one a bloated infected among the crowd. Quickly, he shoved it back and shot it so it would not get any of the disgusting green substance on him. The infected exploded, sending bile all over the horde. Vincent backed up and laughed as they began tearing each other apart. Quickly, he ran outside the building while the horde continued fighting amongst themselves. Vincent ran down the road and saw another military Humvee. "I wonder what's inside this one?" he thought.

He opened it up and saw some documents and a small cylindrical container full of a green substance. "Is that a bottle of puke?" he wondered. He stuffed it inside his backpack and took the documents. He sat in Humvee and began to read the documents. Apparently, the documents contained a lot of information on the "special" infected Vincent fought earlier. The first page contained photos of the hooded infected that clawed him. Below the photos were the following words.

_My team and I have been dispatched to study the numerous types of special infected. These infected are different from all the rest and should not be treated lightly. There are different types which I have managed to put down in these documents. I only hope I can make it back to the military before something happens to me_

_The Hunter_

_* The Hunter is extremely fast and agile. _

_* It can blend in with crowds of common infected. _

_* The only way you can tell if the infected is a Hunter is by the hoodie it wears, and the growls and snarls it makes. _

_* The Hunter will try to jump at you and claw you to death. _

"So that's what gave me these nasty wounds." Vincent remarked. He turned the page to find photos of the tall, lanky infected with the long tongue.

_The Smoker_

_* This special infected's main form of attack is from a distance by grabbing you with its long tongue. The exact length of the tongue is unknown. One of my teammates, Martha, saw a Smoker grab someone from hundreds of meters away._

_* The Smoker releases a cloud of smoke when it dies. It is difficult to breath while in the smoke, but it doesn't seem to harm you in any way._

_* You can tell a Smoker is nearby if you hear the sound of coughing. Be careful as it can ambush you from many places._

Vincent flipped through the documents until he found the entry of another special infected. The photos depict the large muscular infected that he had shot at with a bazooka earlier.

_The Tank_

_* One of the most dangerous infected, the Tank is pure brute force. It will charge at you and attempt to pound you to death._

_* Stay away from cars if you encounter a Tank. It is strong enough to send one flying at you. _

_* The Tank is extremely hard to kill. Conventional weaponry is extremely ineffective against it. Our team got lucky the other day, because one of the soldiers accompanying us happened to have a RPG launcher, which blew it to pieces._

"Wow. Thank god I found that bazooka earlier." he smiled.

He turned the page and found the bloated infected that the man turned into; Vincent had encountered him not long after he left his apartment. "Seems long ago." he sighed.

_The Boomer_

_*The Boomer's form of attack is to vomit a green substance all over you, which causes other common infected to attack you. _

_*Killing this infected at close range will also spew the substance at you._

_*The Boomer is easy to spot as it is the most bloated of infected. _

_*Our team managed to recover some of the green substance and analyze it. We were able to weaponize it into a sort of "Bile Bomb". Turn to p. 109 for more information._

"Hmm, that bile bomb could prove useful in the future." Vincent said and turned the page. He found the next page partly splattered in blood. It contained photos of a female infected with long claws.

_Our team ran into trouble while studying this special infected. We disturbed it by accident, and it clawed our entire team to death. I managed to escape, but I'm wounded and I doubt I will reach help in time. I only hope that whoever reads this will get these documents to the military. _

_The Witch_

_*The most dangerous of infected, however, the Witch is initially passive until disturbed._

_*When disturbed, it will rush at you and claw you to death. It can run very fast and should be avoided at all costs._

_*If you hear crying, it means there is a Witch nearby. Avoid it at all costs. One of the soldiers, Mark attempted to fire at it with his M-16 to no avail. It charged at him non-stop and gutted him like a fish._

_*WARNING: Do not point flashlights at it. Before Mark shot the Witch we were studying, he shined his flashlight at it, which startled it.  
_

_Other than the page about the bile bomb, this is my last entry. I only hope this document will be in good hands._

_- John A. Kold_

_5-16-10_

Vincent turned to the page about the Bile Bomb mentioned earlier.

_The Bile Bomb_

_Note: Our team were able to use the Boomer's vomit and turn it against the infected. We were able to purify it to be more effective and harm only the infected. _

_*To use the Bile Bomb, simply throw it at whatever infected you want wiped out first._

_*The Bile Bomb will not last forever. Be sure to wipe out any infected that are left._

_Final Note: One of my fellow scientists managed to escape in a helicopter with a Bile Bomb. The military and CEDA will probably be able to produce more. I have kept one Bile Bomb for the use of whoever finds this document. I can only say good luck._

Vincent closed the documents and put it in his backpack. He checked the time, which said 12:32 A.M. "I need to find a safe house for the night. I'm getting tired." he yawned.

He heard a roar coming from the other side of the road. Vincent turned around to find a horde and a Tank rushing at him. Quickly, he pulled out the Bile Bomb. "I hope this works." he whispered in silent prayer.

Vincent threw the Bile Bomb and it landed squarely in the Tank's face. Immediately, the horde changed targets and began beating the Tank. The Tank roared in pain and punched the infected. But there were too many. The horde overwhelmed the Tank. Vincent could not see it underneath all of the infected. Quickly, he ran into a nearby alley. He was greeted with a awesome sight. "SAFE HOUSE!" he screamed excitedly.

Quickly, he ran inside and locked the door. Only then did he hear the crying. Vincent turned around. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Vincent said in fear and shock. There was a Witch crying right in front of him.


	4. Chapter 4: Hope

Author's Note: Here is Chapter 4. I might not be able to post chapters as frequently from now on. It's starting to get busy in real life. But I will not leave this story unfinished. Count on that.

_Chapter 4: Hope_

Vincent dropped his shotgun in fear and shock. "God fucking dammit," he thought. "I flee from a massive horde only to run into a Witch. Oh this day is turning out great." The Witch turned around and began growling at him. Vincent backed up against the safe room door. The Witch continued growling at him, then resumed crying a minute later. Vincent looked closely at the Witch. He noticed it was bleeding from a wound on its arm. "This is probably the Witch the scientist guys were studying." he thought.

Vincent picked up his shotgun slowly, but decided not to fire it. He didn't know what these things could do if he shot at it. After all, the document did say the Witch was the most dangerous of the infected. He slowly examined the safe room. It was small and cramped. There was a bed in one corner. Vincent turned to the left and saw a shelf full of boxes. There was a room. He slowly walked over there, careful not to aggravate the Witch. He saw it was a shower room. "Well, at least I can clean myself for once." he muttered. Vincent decided to clean himself later, and put his backpack on the shelf. He turned to the Witch who was still crying. He looked at the Witch in pity. "Damn the infection for ruining people's lives." he thought. Vincent decided to help the Witch. He saw a First-Aid Kit on the wall and yanked it. Slowly, he walked over to the Witch. The Witch growled at him, but it was more softer this time. Vincent huddled down and slowly examined the wound. The Witch stared at him with its gleaming red eyes, full of curiosity.

Slowly, Vincent examined the wound. He pulled out a wet piece of cloth from the First-Aid Kit and cleaned the blood off the Witch's arm. Next, he pulled out some strips of gauze and wrapped it around the Witch's arm. "You should be fine." he said reassuringly.

The Witch stared after him as Vincent got up and went to go shower, then resumed crying when he went in. Vincent locked the door behind him and undressed. He turned on the water. It felt good. Vincent wondered how long it has been since he showered. "Probably not very long, considering I left my apartment quite recently, but it has felt like ages." he said to himself. He soon finished showering and yawned. He dressed himself and unlocked the door. The Witch was still sitting in the same spot, crying. Vincent slowly walked to the bed, laid down and started to sleep. "Things will probably be better in the morning." he yawned. Vincent fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Vincent knew he was dreaming. Yet, it felt real. He was somewhere else entirely. Floating in a vast emptiness, Vincent was greeted with visions of his past. He saw a vision of a little boy, probably only eight years old, playing with a little girl about the same age. "The past is the past. Why are you showing me this?" he yelled to no one in particular.

Another vision arrived to greet him. This one depicted two men talking to each other. Vincent recognized one of them as him, only younger. The other man was dressed in a white suit. Vincent saw his younger self standing against the wall casually, almost lazily, while the man in the white suit handed Vincent's younger self a stack of bills. "I remember this. What was that man's name?" he wondered.

He barely had time to think before that vision vanished and another one appeared. This one showed Vincent's younger self walking down the street. Vincent saw his younger self grinning until he saw two men grab his younger self into an alley and started beating him up. Moments later, the two men walked out, covered in sweat and blood. They both walked away in different directions.

"This is just a dream. Come on Vincent, wake up." he told himself. The vision blurred to form another vision. This time, Vincent saw his younger self mercilessly holding a magnum to a man's head. He recognized the man was one of the men who beat his younger self in the alley. Vincent's younger self was grinning triumphantly. The man was on the ground, pleading for mercy. Vincent felt himself being pulled into the vision, into the perspective of his younger self. He had no control over his actions. All he could do was watch; watch and reflect.

_Vincent stood calmly over the man, holding a Desert Eagle to his head. Vincent was following the same old routine again: Make a deal with the Kingpin, get double-crossed, dispose his lackeys, and leave a message. "I've been doing this for awhile now," Vincent remarked to himself. "Makes me wonder what causes me to head back to the Kingpin every single time. Then again, he pays well." Vincent decided to think about that later. After the beating in the alley, Vincent identified the men and stalked them, waiting for a chance. He already dispatched the other man who beat him. He had silently slipped into the residence and stealthily took down his target. _

_He had more difficulty taking down this lackey. Vincent found that the man was actually expecting him and tried to ambush him with a frying pan. It had surprised him only for a instant, and Vincent had subdued him quickly without alerting anyone outside the residence and prepared to execute him with his magnum.  
_

_"Puh-please! I was just following orders! Please don't kill me." the man cried to Vincent, sobbing. He begged in front of Vincent, like a dog, pleading for mercy._

_"Those who beg for mercy are too weak to deserve it. If I let you go, it'll jeopardize everything I ever worked for." Vincent replied coldly. He pulled the trigger, and the round ended the man's life._

_Vincent put the gun in the man's hand. He then walked over to a table and grabbed a pencil and paper. Calmly, he wrote a note and put it in the man's other hand. Two hours later, Vincent left the residence stealthily, so no one would see him.  
_

_"Message delivered. The FBI will think this is just a suicide. I've left no trace of evidence leading back to me. And I pissed off the most powerful man in the city." he smirked. Vincent drove off in a Harley-Davidson._

The vision ended. Vincent was back in his current body. The visions stopped, giving him time to reflect upon his past. _"_All of that was years ago. But, I guess even I can't escape my past." he remarked.

"No you can't." said a voice behind him. Vincent whirled around.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"You don't recognize yourself?" the voice smirked.

Vincent saw his younger self step out of the shadows. "This is just a dream. But dreams can change the course of life. You were a stone cold criminal in the past. Are you sure you want to continue being cold and heartless?" his younger self asked Vincent.

"Your not my conscious." Vincent retorted.

His younger self smiled without humor,"No, but look around you. Death and destruction follow you everywhere. You don't care about anything, anyone, not even her."

"You've gone too far." Vincent said through clenched teeth. He lunged at his younger self, who disappeared into mist.

"Strike a nerve? Oh well, we will continue this in the future. Someone wishes to see you right now." Vincent's younger self sighed.

"Wha-" Vincent began. He then felt himself being pulled somewhere else.

* * *

Vincent woke up and frantically sat up. It was still night. He saw the Witch kneeling in front of him on the bed. Vincent felt the glowing red eyes pierce him. The Witch raised a claw. "Oh god, if this is the end, just make it quick." Vincent thought. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain. However, instead of pain, Vincent felt something pointy touch him on the side of his face. He opened his eyes and saw the Witch gently stroking him with those lethal claws, eyes full of curiosity. Her other claw slowly reached for Vincent's hand.

"This is so strange. Here I am, having emotional contact with the most dangerous of infected." he thought. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before something unexpected happened. The Witch slowly moved forward and kissed Vincent on the lips. Startled, Vincent's eyes grew wide, but he felt himself returning the kiss. He tasted something sweet in the Witch's mouth. "Is that what I think it is? It tastes like... sugar." he wondered. However, the Witch pulled back, as if just realizing the vast difference between them. Vincent saw tears slowly drop out of her eyes. "Hey its all right," Vincent comforted her. "I understand, I'm human and your...something else. But...its all right."

The Witch raised her head and inched forward. Slowly, to Vincent's surprise, she began to speak. It was a whisper, and each word was spoken as if with great effort, but she spoke, "You are, the first person, I've ever met, who seems to have no intention of harming me."

Vincent and the Witch stared in each other's eyes for a moment, before the Witch slowly inched forward and gently kiss Vincent again on the lips. Vincent returned the kiss slowly. For a moment, he forgot about everything; his past, and the infection. For a moment, it was just Vincent and the Witch. He could see gentle tears fall out of the Witch's eyes as they laid down in bed together.

"What am I doing?" he wondered as he drifted off to sleep once again.

* * *

Vincent woke up the next morning, having no recollection of last night. Then he remembered. Vincent turned his head and saw the Witch gently sleeping next to him. He checked the time on his watch. "6:43," he said quietly. He decided to gather his things and leave the safe house, hoping to find some way of contacting help. He picked up his shotgun, made sure it was fully loaded, and cocked it. He sat down to eat a candy bar before leaving. When he finished unwrapping it, he saw the Witch had woken up. She knelt on the bed, motioning for him to stay with her.

"I can't. I wish I could, but..." Vincent trailed off. He finished the candy bar and picked up his backpack. When he turned to walk out the door, he heard the sound he first heard when he entered the safe house last night: the sound of crying. He turned to find the Witch sobbing, tears falling out. Vincent sighed, then said, "I can't stay here...but...why don't you come with me. I'll have a better chance of survival and...well...your the first thing I've cared for in a very long time." Vincent felt himself turning slightly red at the last words.

The Witch stopped crying and climbed out of the bed. She gently put her head against Vincent's. "How about I also give you a name. I just can't keep calling you Witch forever right?" he said with a smile. Vincent thought for a second.

"I know. How about Hope? Hope, because perhaps in this god-forsaken world, there is still a single spark of humanity. You are living proof of that." he smiled.

Vincent saw her slowly nod. He held out his hand, and Hope took it. Shotgun in his other hand, they walked out the safe room door as the sun began to rise.

* * *

Author's Note: The dream Vincent had, about his past, will be used in a future story that I'm planning. The story will be mainly about Vincent's violent and shady past before Left 4 Dead.


	5. Chapter 5: Tragedy

Author's Note: Sorry about the lateness of this one, school is about to start so I'm going to be busy for awhile. Sorry guys. Well anyways, here's Chapter 5. Read and review please.

Chapter 5: Tragedy

Vincent slowly stepped out of the safe room with his pale companion. He looked around and saw most of the infected from yesterday were gone. Beside him, Hope just stared at them blankly with her bright red eyes. The daring survivor slowly walked out of the alley, shotgun at the ready. The infected on the street saw him and began to run at him. Before Vincent could shoot however, Hope began to growl loudly. The infected immediately stopped in their tracks. Vincent smirked. The infected continued their stumbling about, clearly intimidated by the witch following the survivor.

The infected did not run to meet them, but eyed the pair warily. A few decided to run at them, who received a shotgun blast and a smirk in return. Suddenly, Vincent heard a groan nearby and realized a boomer was hiding nearby. He backed up against the wall, and turned to see around the corner. He saw the boomer which vomited on him before he could react. "Oh god dammit, I just washed this!" he cried out in disgust. The infected from earlier almost instantly ran to attack Vincent. He couldn't see a single thing, but for some reason, he felt no infected trying to hurt him. Vincent cleared the bile away and saw Hope standing in front of him, surrounded by piles of infected with many limbs cut off.

The normally no nonsense survivor began to laugh until he saw Hope staring at him blankly. "Um, right, let's continue on." he grinned sheepishly. He was surprised at how brutally the bodies looked and how Hope had no problem killing her own kind. They continued down the street for a few minutes before Vincent suddenly heard the sound of an engine. He looked up and saw a helicopter in the air. "To anyone who can hear this, proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation. Repeat, proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation." a man inside the helicopter broadcasted with a loudspeaker.

"That's us." Vincent said to Hope. He grabbed one of her claws and began to run in the direction of Mercy Hospital. The infected on the streets turned to stare at them, but dared not to come any closer. All of a sudden, Vincent heard a scream and turned behind him. He saw a hunter leaping on buildings and following them. "Just try and pounce me, you son of a bitch." the daring survivor snarled. As if an answer to his challenge, the hunter immediately pounced at him. Hope gasped in surprise, but Vincent moved in front of her to assure her he knows what he's doing. As the hunter neared, Vincent slammed the butt of his shotgun against the hunter. The hunter stumbled back in surprise, and Vincent fired a single shot at its head. He sighed and saw the infected he passed earlier charging at them. "Looks like they aren't intimidated by a Witch when other special infected are nearby." Vincent smiled grimly. He took off and ran while firing his shotgun. However, he stopped in mid-run when he saw Hope charging at the horde head on.

The shadowy warrior raised his shotgun to fire, but lowered it when he realized he might accidentally shoot Hope. Instead, he began to ran towards her but stopped again when he saw what was happening. The silver-haired woman began cutting up the horde with her claws, face eerily calm, looking as if she was doing it effortlessly. Limbs flew everywhere, including in Vincent's general direction. Vincent's mouth dropped in shock when he saw the slaughter before him. Hope finished up the horde and turned to face him with that same blank look on her face. Vincent chuckled, "Damn, nice job." then fired a shot behind her. Hope turned around and saw that Vincent's shot had hit a infected who survived the slaughter spree. "But you did miss one." Vincent finished, and almost broke uncontrollably into laughter. The silver-haired woman tilted her head, looking a bit confused at Vincent's remark.

The pair continued down the street which was completely empty. There wasn't even a single infected standing around. Far off to the distance, Vincent saw Mercy Hospital surrounded by a few helicopters in the air. "We're not far now, just a mile or two to go." Vincent smiled. He turned to his pale companion, who was trying to imitate his smile. "This shouldn't be hard. The street is completely empty." Vincent said, though he wasn't sure if he was reassuring himself or Hope.

Suddenly, Vincent heard the familiar roar of a tank. "I had to say something..." he muttered, and readied his shotgun. The tank burst out of a nearby alley and began charging at the pair. The tank ignored the silver-haired woman and brutally shoved her out of its way, as Vincent quickly backed up and began unloading all of his shotgun shells into it. Vincent gasped as his shotgun belched its last shell, and the tank punched him hard. Vincent flew across the street. Darkness pressed around his eyes, but he ignored it. He looked up to see the tank above him, its huge arms raised for a killing blow. Before it could pummel Vincent into ground meat, Vincent saw many spikes coming out of the tank's belly. The tank looked down in surprise, and the spikes rescinded quickly. The tank fell down to the ground, dead. Vincent saw his pale companion, her claws completely covered in blood.

Hope slowly pulled Vincent to his feet. Vincent stumbled, then threw up on the ground. "I'll...I'll be fine." he sputtered. He examined his shotgun. The punch had hit him and the shotgun hard. Vincent sighed. The cocking mechanism wasn't working, and the trigger was missing. He threw it down in frustration. Vincent felt a gentle claw on his back as if to make him feel better. "If it wasn't for Hope, I'd be dead right now." Vincent thought to himself. He shot the silver-haired woman a look of gratitude and they continued down the street towards Mercy Hospital. Vincent checked his watch. To his surprise, it wasn't damaged at all. It read 1:45 P.M. Once again, the street was completely devoid of life. Vincent shuddered. He hated the silence. It made him feel uneasy. He looked around. There were stores all around them, most of them closed down and boarded. He saw one which had no wood on it and looked at it in surprise. It was gun store. "Awesome." he grinned. He ran up to it. The door was locked, but Vincent just kicked it open.

He saw many weapons around him. "This is heaven in a zombie apocalypse." he commented with satisfaction. He looked around for a gun that would suit his needs for a long time. He saw auto shotguns that were the same brand the tank had just broke. Long minutes later, Vincent picked out an AK-47. "You are going to kill some zombies with me." he chuckled to himself. To make up for its lack of accuracy, he picked up a laser sight and put it on the AK-47. "What's that smell?" he wondered. As if an answer, Hope pointed to something behind the counter. Vincent looked, and saw a man covered in blood, pistol in his hand. He must have either committed suicide or died trying to fight the infected. Vincent looked around one more time, and saw melee weapons on the wall. "Man, what doesn't this place have." he laughed. The shadowy warrior chose a katana off the wall and strapped it to his waist. "Let's go." he motioned to Hope.

They left the gun shop and continued the long walk to Mercy Hospital. After a few minutes, they came across many dead bodies of infected. "Dead infected must mean people came by here." Vincent smiled grimly. However, he looked on ahead and saw the road was barricaded and blocked. "Damn, lets find another way around." he sighed. He saw a nearby alley. As he approached it, he heard a sound he hadn't heard since yesterday; the sound of crying. "Fuck that, I ain't going to go into an alley with a witch inside it. Let's find another way around." he grumbled. Vincent looked around, and saw no other way to get around the barricades. "I'm going to regret this." he mumbled darkly. Vincent rounded the corner and saw a witch crying in the middle. The only way they were going to get past is to either kill her, or get her to move. Before Vincent could decide on what to do, Hope slowly walked up to the witch crying on the ground. The two stared at each other. Vincent heard them make growling noises to each other. After a minute or so, Vincent saw the witch slowly getting up and sitting on a nearby Dumpster, then saw it continue to cry.

Hope motioned at Vincent to follow her. Slowly, he walked past the witch. The witch stopped crying and stared at it, but didn't growl. When the two were out of sight, Vincent heard it resuming its sobbing. Vincent was about to ask what Hope did when suddenly he felt the familiar tongue of a smoker wrapping around him. "FUCK!" he yelled. The tongue wrapped around Vincent tight. He could not break free. It began dragging him towards the witch. Vincent saw Hope sprint and cut the tongue. He landed on the ground, next to the Dumpster the witch cried on. Before the smoker could flee, Hope pounced on it, ripping it to shreds. However, as Vincent's pale companion finished off the smoker, the tough warrior saw the witch they had passed by growling and starting to get up. Vincent froze in terror and shock, just like the first time he met his pale companion, his Hope. Quickly, he suppressed his fear as the witch got up. "Hope! Let's get the fuck out of here!" Vincent screamed and took off as the witch began to sprint at him, claws out. He ran as fast as he could, but saw the witch was slowly catching up to him. "Dammit I'm tired of running." he gasped.

Vincent threw his AK-47 to the side and pulled out his katana just in time to block a swipe from the witch's claws. Sparks flew as the claws and the sword connected. Whatever those claws were made of, the durable blade could not cut it. He could see Hope running out of the alley and running towards them. Vincent returned his gaze to the furious witch who was trying to swipe at him as fast as it could. Vincent dodged, blocked, parried, all of them. Over the years, the strong-willed survivor had learned many fighting techniques and was sure he could take on a witch. However, he decided to remain defensive. The witch was an unpredictable opponent and one swipe with those long claws is all it would take to end his life. Vincent continued defending himself until he saw Hope growl at the witch. The witch turned around, no longer interested in Vincent and charged at Hope. Before the witch could reach Hope, Vincent stabbed it in the back with his katana. The witch fell to the ground, snarling as blood leaked out of the wound.

The witch gave one last snarl before the shadowy warrior pulled out the katana and ended its life. He closed his eyes, trying to comprehend with what happened. Hope simply stared at him with her familiar blank expression. From the looks of it, she had no problem killing witches either. Vincent sat down on the street and stopped to take a drink of water. After taking a few refreshing sips, he put it back into his backpack, picked up his AK-47 and they continued on. After an hour of endless walking, they came across another barricade. Vincent peered through it. He saw more dead infected bodies. Vincent returned his gaze on finding a way around it. He saw another alley similar to the one the witch cried at earlier. Vincent carefully peered around the corner. The alley was completely empty, save for them. Vincent began to walk out, but stopped to read a large graffiti on the wall. It read, "No zombie is safe from Chicago Ted." Vincent wondered at the message. "Whoever this guy is, he must be the one who left those bodies behind. But why is he called Chicago Ted? This is Fairfield, not Chicago." he thought. Vincent felt Hope tapping him gently on his back. Vincent turned and saw her motioning her head for him to follow. "Okay I'm coming." he replied.

After passing the second barricade, Vincent saw the rest of the road was fenced and blocked off. He saw two safe room doors, one on their side of the fence and the other on the other side. "Come on, we're almost there!" Vincent yelled excitedly. No sooner than they began running towards the door, the biggest horde Vincent had ever seen charged at them. They spilled out of a nearby alley and out of the safe room. Vincent felt countless fists punching him and clawing him. One of the infected knocked his AK-47 to the ground. The normally calm survivor panicked and frantically pulled out his katana, aware of all the infected trying to bring him down.

The daring survivor swung wildly, as if it was his last battle, decapitating any infected pounding him. Beside him, Vincent saw his pale companion wildly cutting through the horde like a tornado. The normally calm silver-haired woman had the face of a feral animal. Her eyes glowed red like a demon. She looked like she was lost in a frenzy. Vincent made sure not to go too close to her and continued cutting up infected. However as he chopped down several, dozens more arrived to take their place. Vincent swung and swung, but one of the infected shoved him towards Hope; hard. Vincent stumbled, and tried to back up, but it was too late. The silver-haired woman's claws cut deep into his chest, drawing fresh blood. Excruciating pain lanced throughout the tough warrior, causing him to ignore the infected around him, Vincent could only stare in shock as sticky red blood gushed out of the terrible wound. "No. No! Not now! Not when we were so close." he exclaimed. Vincent felt himself fall down to the ground in pain and shock, the infected pressing in around him. Vincent tried to resist the darkness creeping around his eyes, but could not. "Hope. Hope-" he coughed as blood began to spill out of his mouth. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Hope slowly turning around with her mouth wide open in shock, trying to reach out towards him.


	6. Chapter 6: Revelation

Author's Note: Well at long last we get to see what happens to Vincent after he got accidentally slashed by Hope's claws. Sorry for the delays, school started so I'm going to be really busy for awhile.

Now, one last thing before you read this chapter. I see that a lot of you are adding my story to your favorites but won't leave a review. You like it, awesome. But I really want to hear your opinions on this story. Don't be lazy and don't be afraid to give me your opinion. Like I said in the earlier chapters, please read and review when your done. Anonymous reviews are enabled and are allowed. Reviews make me smile more than favorite adds, so please put a smile on my face and give me your opinion :D

I'm still improving my writing skills by the way and hopefully it'll get better with every chapter. Now enjoy!

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Chapter 6: Revelation

Vincent opened his eyes slowly. He tried to get up and was met with extreme pain. His vision was blurry, but Vincent turned his head slightly to see a man working with something on the ground. From the looks of it, the man was around his late thirties or his early forties. Vincent saw a grenade launcher slung to the strange man's back. The survivor looked at his own body. Vincent saw his chest was wrapped with many bandages and gauze strips. They were extremely red and bloody. He tried to speak, but it came out as a cough. The man turned to him in surprise when he heard Vincent cough. "Oh god he's awake. Here, feed him these," said the strange man. He handed someone behind Vincent an open container.

The tired survivor looked up and saw Hope kneeling behind him. Vincent saw that she was covered in a lot of blood. Vincent saw his possibly only friend in this world dump a few pills out of the container then put them into Vincent's mouth, carefully so her claws would not hurt him. Vincent did not resist and swallowed immediately, he felt tired and drowsy. The pain he felt when he woke up began to fade. "Hope?" he managed to whisper before he passed out.

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* * *

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He knew it was another dream. Yet he could do nothing about it. Vincent helplessly floated in darkness as flashbacks of his life came flying towards him extremely fast. Vincent felt like his head would explode if they did not stop. He clutched his head in agony. Through the rushing of the flashbacks, he heard a voice. "Welcome back," it said in an ominous tone. The visions of his life stopped and Vincent saw his younger self floating in front of him.

"What do you want this time?" he asked. The younger survivor did not answer and instead disappeared.

In his place, the image of a young woman appeared. The woman looked to be around her late teen years or early twenties. She had a tired expression on her face and wore a bright red jacket. Vincent saw she was holding a hunting rifle. After staring at her for a minute, Vincent finally said slowly with weariness, "I...I knew her. Before all of this happened. Is...is she still alive?" A few seconds later, three people began to appear right by the woman.

They were all men. The first man looked like an army veteran, hat included. He was around his elderly years and held an M-16 assault rifle. The second man looked as if he belonged with a gang. He had tattoos all over his arms and his head was bald. The man held an auto shotgun. He looked to be around his late thirties. The third man was dark skinned and wore a business-looking outfit. Like the army veteran, this man held an M-16. Vincent identified him as around his early to late twenties.

The lone survivor reached out towards the group in front of him, but they disappeared when his hand got close. He saw the image of another person appear before him, this time a man. The man wore a white suit and looked to be around his middle thirties. He held an AK-47 in one hand and held a pistol in the other. Vincent's jaw dropped when he recognized who he was. "I knew him too!" he exclaimed. Vincent was about to lunge towards the man, when more people began to appear.

A woman and two other men appeared besides the man in the white suit. The woman was dark skinned and wore a bright pink shirt. The shirt had an image of a band. Vincent recognized the band as a British music band named Depeche Mode. She looked to be around her late twenties. The next person was dark skinned like the woman. He was bulky and had a bald head. Vincent could not identify how old he was. The final man was goofy-looking. He looked like a country guy and wore a blue hat and had many things slung behind his back. Vincent marveled at how many weapons there were. There was a shotgun, AK-47, a sniper rifle, and a grenade launcher slung across the man's back. A moment later, the group disappeared just like the first one. The once again lone survivor heard the voice of his younger self.

"Do not take this apocalypse to be a curse, but rather as a blessing. You will find that you will be able to right the wrongs of the past and finally find peace." Vincent felt his younger self disappear again and felt a blinding white light rush towards him.

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* * *

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Vincent screamed and woke up, breathing heavily. "Whoa, easy there boy. You just barely escaped the clutches of Death itself," said a voice next to Vincent.

He turned his head and saw the middle-aged man he saw earlier. "Who are you?" Vincent asked. The man chuckled and cleared his throat.

"I am known by many names, but if your here then I guess you can call me Chicago Ted." Vincent looked around at where he was. There was a safe room door to his right and to his left he found his only friend crying in a corner. It took a moment for him to recognize her. Vincent saw that she had no blood on her, and her hair was clean and brushed. Her skin gleamed a clean white. His backpack was next to the stairs, along with his guns. Chicago Ted met Vincent's gaze. "I need to talk to you before you talk to her," he sighed. "I saw what happened outside. I saw you get slashed by her claws. I would've shot her if I hadn't seen the way she held you after cutting down that mother of a horde. You know, she really cares about you. It took me awhile to convince her that I wasn't going to hurt either of you. We got you inside and I fixed up your wounds. It was hard, took awhile, and you were near death, but some miracle allowed you to survive. You woke up in the middle of it all. Well, you should probably go talk to your friend now. She's really beating herself up after what happened." Chicago Ted got up, patted Vincent on the back and walked up the stairs.

The now healed survivor crawled over to his silver-haired companion. "Hey Hope," he began. "I know how you feel. You nearly killed me, but it's over now. We have to move on."

Vincent saw Hope whisper at him without turning around, "I'm a monster, destined to be alone. I ended up hurting everyone I care about until you came. And even you were no exception." She broke into an even deeper sob.

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hope, it is not what you are, but what you do that defines you. You chose to come with me, to fight with me, and to stick by me, even though we both knew you could have easily killed me. You are not a monster. You are something else entirely. I on the other hand...I've done terrible things that have caused me to be called a monster. A demon. Until I met you."

Hope slowly turned to face him, tears streaming out of her red eyes. "Am I...am I really not a monster?" she asked Vincent.

Putting emphasis into his answer, Vincent replied, "No. No you are not."

Tears continued to stream out of Hope's eyes, slowly this time as she hugged Vincent. "Thank you," she whispered.

After a moment, Vincent broke the silence. "So...um...you learned how to take a bath?" he asked. Hope slowly nodded.

"How do I look?" she whispered. Vincent looked closely at her. Her face was free of all the dirt and grime when he had first met her.

He smiled, "You look...beautiful. I can see you can also talk a bit better now." Hope also smiled.

Vincent began to get up, but felt a gentle claw hold on to his hand. He turned around and saw Hope reaching for him. "Can you stay with me? It's lonely here." she beckoned in her quiet tone. The survivor sat down and huddled close to his friend.

Together, they drifted into a peaceful sleep. They did not notice Chicago Ted watching them from the stairs. He smiled a sad smile and whispered to the pair, "I hope you realize how lucky you are kid. Treasure each moment with her and you'll find peace in this world. I'll see you in the future." Chicago Ted went back upstairs, picked up his guns, climbed out of a window, and left the safe house.

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* * *

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The freshly rejuvenated survivor woke up to find his female friend still sleeping softly. He yawned, got up and went upstairs to talk to Chicago Ted. "Hey Ted, you there?" he asked. Vincent searched all over the place, but could not find him.

When he walked into one of the rooms, he noticed an open window and realized what happened. "Ah you sneaky bastard," he chuckled. Vincent found the bathroom and took a quick shower.

A few minutes later, he walked downstairs in fresh clothes and began to eat a bag of chips from his backpack. When he finished, he saw Hope had woken up. "Morning," he said. Hope merely smiled at him, opened a nearby bag of sugar with her claws and poured it into her mouth. Vincent chuckled, "So that's what I tasted when I first met you. I guess Witches like sugar." Hope nodded at him and threw the bag in the trash.

Vincent put a few sugar bags into his backpack and picked up his guns. "Mercy Hospital isn't far now. Are you ready to leave?" he asked his silver haired companion. She simply took his hand into her claws as an answer.

The survivor smiled, "Then let's go."

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Author's Note: This was more of an emotional chapter. The killing and stuff will come back in the next, along with meeting the survivors from Left 4 Dead 1. When I played the game, I found a graffiti in the safe house before the finale of No Mercy that said "No zombie is safe from Chicago Ted." and decided to put Chicago Ted in my story as a middle-aged man possibly more daring than Vincent at killing zombies, yet extremely caring about his fellow survivors. See you next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7: Sacrifice

**Author's Note**: _Hello all, back to present the next chapter. School is kicking up pretty hard, but I found some time to write this chapter (I have four tests on the same day this week). Well anyways here's Chapter 7, probably my most intense chapter so far. Read and review when you are done reading please, and if you haven't done so yet, read my one-shot Tears and Noodles, a Left 4 Dead fan-fiction. If I get enough positive reviews for it, I'll turn it into a full story. This chapter takes place in the fourth and fifth level of No Mercy. This will also be the longest chapter thus far so you might want to grab something to drink as its SUPER LONG. Thought you guys deserved it for the patience. Now read and review and make me a happy man.  
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**Disclaimer: **_I own Left 4 Dead, but in Soviet Russia, Left 4 Dead owns me. Oh be right back, phone is ringing. WHAT! Dang it Valve, I was going to make Last Man on Earth permanent, but you had to steal the rights back. __Tricky corporations and their money..._

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Chapter 7: Sacrifice

The fearless survivor and the silver maiden walked out of their home for the past few days. As the sun rose in the sky, the survivor smiled. "Ain't it beautiful, Hope." he commented. Hope looked in the sky and Vincent saw the sun bedazzle in her bright red eyes.

"Let's keep moving. We aren't far now." Vincent motioned. Mercy Hospital was indeed not very far; it would only take up to a few minutes of walking. The colossal building towered above the meek pair.

There were few infected in the streets, and most were turned in the other direction. Vincent silently slammed each of them in the back without alerting the others while Hope went straight to stabbing her claws through them. As Vincent knocked down the final infected, the survivor heard a familiar screech. "Hunter!" he cried out.

Vincent turned around to see a Hunter pounce onto him extremely fast. The survivor braced himself, but suddenly his left arm jerked up as if it had a mind of its own and landed a punch perfectly onto its face in mid-air. Surprised, he looked down at his hand then examined the Hunter. "Wow it's dead." he remarked in surprise. "Did I just do that? I never could do that. Did Chicago Ted do something to me besides healing my wounds?"

He looked at Hope, who merely shrugged in confusion. "Wonder what else I can do. Anyways, lets go."

With all the infected dead in the streets, the pair sprinted towards the skyscraper. Two minutes later, they saw the entrance to the hospital. "We're here, but no one else is here." Vincent observed. "I don't like this. Keep your guard up."

There were no infected in the courtyard, but Vincent saw a big muscly arm waving from behind an ambulance. "Oh shit, Tank. It must be waiting for us." the survivor whispered. No sooner than he finished his words, the Tank knocked the ambulance towards the pair. Instinctively, Vincent ducked, but Hope just stood there and he was forced to pull her down. The ambulance sailed through the air, missing them by a hair's length. As it crashed behind them, Vincent looked up and saw the Tank aim a punch towards him. He jumped back, but jumped farther than he anticipated, and it turned into a flip.

"What just happened?" Vincent thought. He pushed it aside and went straight into combat. As soon as he landed, the survivor unloaded all of his rounds into the Tank. The tank mercilessly shoved Hope to the ground and went straight for Vincent. He squeezed the trigger, and nothing came out. "Shit, need to relo- Ah forget it." he muttered. The Tank aimed a punch, but Vincent ducked and punched the Tank in the stomach as hard as he could. To his surprise, the Tank staggered back from the blow. "So I also have enhanced strength. Sweet!" Vincent grinned. Before the Tank could recover, Vincent continued punching it, staggering it back towards Hope. Hope got up and stabbed it in the back, killing it. Blood dripped down her claw as the Tank fell to the side, its life ebbing away.

Vincent tried to chuckle, but only a wheezing cough came out. He picked up his AK-47 and jammed a fresh clip into it. They walked into Mercy Hospital and saw a safe room behind the front desk. "I guess we'll rest here before we move on." Vincent decided. They walked in, and the survivor locked the door. Vincent threw down his backpack, sat down, and opened a bottle of water from it. He finished drinking from it and threw it into a nearby trash bin. There was sleeping bags in the room, and Vincent crawled into one. Before Vincent could go to sleep, he felt something embrace his head. He looked up and saw Hope gently gripping him in her presence, cradling his head in those lethal claws of her. She bent down and whispered, "I love you." and kissed Vincent gently on the lips.

"I love you too." he replied and fell asleep in her lap.

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Vincent expected himself to be thrown into another dream, but this time it was a dreamless sleep. Suddenly, he heard voices. Vincent opened his eyes and saw Hope looking towards the safe room door. "To the safe house, people!" yelled a strange voice. Vincent got up and picked up his AK-47. He saw an elderly man in an army uniform, a biker-looking man, and a bald black man run into the lobby. He also saw a fourth figure, but he or she was covered by the darkness. "Okay now who are you people?" the lone survivor asked the group.

"We are Survivors like you. Will you let us in?" said the elderly man. Vincent was about to answer until he saw the fourth figure. She was a young woman, looking around her late teens to early twenties. She wore a bright red jacket and carried a hunting rifle. Vincent gasped in shock, "Oh my god... Zoey?"

The girl named Zoey looked back at Vincent in confusion, and then recognized him a few seconds later. "Vincent! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed.

"I could ask the same of you. Who are these people? I've never met them before." he asked.

Zoey responded with venom in her voice, "And I don't want you to. You'll probably just kill them. Your nothing but a cold-blooded killer."

Vincent sighed. "The past is the past and lets leave it at that. The world has completely changed and so have I. Besides, your not getting inside here with that attitude."

The biker shoved past Zoey before she could speak. "We could just shoot you. I hate goths, and you sir look like one." he threatened menacingly. He held up an auto shotgun.

Anger built up inside Vincent. "You could try." he began, "But I wouldn't recommend it." Vincent held up his AK-47.

The two stared at each other like wolves ready to pounce, until the black man broke the tension. "Guys why are we all fighting? We should be worried about them. We can kill each other when this is over." he spoke in a calm tone.

The lone survivor sighed and lowered his gun. "He's right. Well come on in, but if one of you even dare try and shoot at my companion, you'll be dead before you can blink."

Vincent began to lower the metal bar on the door when Zoey asked him in a sarcastic tone, "Oh and who's your companion? I thought you were a lone wolf at heart."

"You'll see when you come in." he replied and unlocked the door. The four survivors stepped in and gasped at Hope who was laying down on the ground, staring at them.

"WITCH!" the biker cried out. He prepared to raise his shotgun, but Vincent raised his AK-47 first.

"Uh uh uh. Don't you fucking dare." he threatened.

The four turned to stare at Vincent. They stood there for a moment until the elderly man put a hand on the biker's shoulder. "Come on Francis, I don't think he'll hurt us as long as we leave the Witch alone."

"Francis" lowered his gun. "Man, you are messed up. They're the enemy and yet your treating with them." he let loose in a low rumbling chuckle.

Vincent spat out in a angry tone which surprised everyone including Hope. "She is different from all the rest. Yes, she's not like us. But that doesn't mean everything not like us is aiming to kill us. If she wanted to kill me, she would've done it. Hope has saved my life several times so you better not fucking touch her."

Silence stood in the air for a moment until the black man once again broke the silence. "Well let's just calm down and introduce ourselves. I'm Louis, and that's Bill." he said, pointing towards the elderly man. "You already know Francis and Zoey." Louis finished.

Vincent cleared his throat, and introduced himself. "My name is Vincent. Like Zoey said, yes I'm a killer. But no I was not cold-blooded. I was good, very good at the game. Now the world's gone to hell and I'm just trying to survive. I've nearly died once, but I'm now back stronger than ever. Literally."

To demonstrate, Vincent raised his fist and pounded it into the metal safe room door. The door shook from the impact and when he lifted his fist, there was a big dent where he punched. The four survivors gasped as Vincent gave himself a tight grin.

"And this." he continued. "Is Hope. Met her the very first time I encountered a Witch. We stuck by each other ever since." he pointed to Hope at the ground, who waved one of her claws at the survivors.

Bill nodded, then began to speak. "So...do all of you want to proceed through this hellhole or get some rest?"

"I'm game, but I don't know about y'all." Vincent offered.

"Hah. If your game, I'm game." said Francis. He hefted his auto shotgun up. Vincent had to grin; he reminded him of himself.

"I'm tired, but I can get through this. How about you, Louis?" Zoey spoke.

When Louis didn't answer, the other four survivors looked over to see him turned around.

"Pills here!" Louis chuckled. He then turned around awkwardly when he heard Zoey. The four survivors burst out laughing, and Louis turned slightly red. He cleared his throat, "Yeah I'm also game. We can do this. I got a good feeling about this."

Vincent laughed, and everyone turned to look at him. "What?" he asked. "I can't laugh at the fact that he's got a good feeling in an apocalyptic world?"

Bill shook his head and unlocked the safe room door and the group of six headed out the hallway. There were a few infected in the hallways. Vincent saw that most of them were either nurses, patients, or doctors. The survivors opened fire on the infected, with Hope in the middle so she would not get hit. They went up a flight of stairs, shooting several infected as they go. "Why stairs?" gasped Bill as he socked an infected to the ground.

"Come on Bill. Cardio!" Louis cheered. Bill mumbled a curse, but they were up in a large open room. Vincent heard familiar crying nearby and saw a Witch sitting on top of a nearby stairscase. Zoey turned to look at Vincent. "What?" he asked.

To his surprise, Zoey giggled. "It's funny how you defended Hope. I can tell you like her. How do you manage to withstand the sound of crying?"

Anger threatened to make Vincent make her shut up. Instead he calmly replied, "First of all, Hope doesn't cry...much. Second of all..." he broke off, grabbed Hope and kissed her deeply. Hope was taken aback by surprise, but she surrendered to the kiss. "...I _love_ her." Vincent finished.

Zoey shut up. Hope blushed slightly. Louis grinned. Bill shook his head. Francis chuckled, "You know, I DON'T hate this. But if you two lovebirds are going to make out, do it elsewhere."

"Ah but if we do, we'll waste valuable ammunition on that Witch up there." Vincent replied craftily. "Hope, can do you do your thing?" he asked.

Hope nodded, and slowly walked up to the Witch. Vincent heard the familar growls and snarls he heard the first time Hope had persuaded a Witch to let him pass. Ther other four survivors looked in surprise as the Witch got up and slowly retreated into another room and began to cry. Hope slowly shut the door, and walked back towards the group. The four survivors stared at her in awe, but Vincent merely smiled. The group went up and passed the Witch and entered another stairscase. "Aw god, more stairs?" complained Bill.

"Want be to carry you, old man?" Vincent chuckled. Bill glared at Vincent, but continued walking up.

"I hate stairs." said Francis.

"Is there anything you DON'T hate, Francis?" asked Louis. "Oh wait, you want to see Vincent and Hope make out." he laughed.

It was Francis' turn to glare, and he directed it at Louis. Vincent had to laugh at that. He liked Louis the most out of the survivors. He gave Louis a pat on the back and reached the top. The hallways there had lots of tape covering rooms. Vincent walked in, then got a faceful of boomer bile. "Ah come on! I just washed this!" he complained.

Vincent heard Francis chuckle, but also heard gunfire and the ripping of flesh. When the effects of the bile wore off, Vincent saw a Boomer at the back of the horde. He raised his gun to fire, and suddenly everything around him became slow. He could see the bullets come out of the group's guns. He saw Hope slowly tearing apart infected as they slowly fell to the ground. It seemed so easy as he raised his gun, fired a single round, and watched the Boomer blow up. Everything sped up to normal again as it exploded. Bile sprayed at the horde, and they tore each other apart. "Come on, let's go!" Bill cried. The six weaved through the horde as they tore each other apart. After the sounds began to fade, they came across an elevator.

"Five bucks says we're going to alert the horde when we call for it." commented Vincent.

"I'll take that bet." said Francis. He pushed the button and heard the familar sounds of a horde.

The lone survivor grinned. "I was right. Now you don't got to worry about just a horde. You also owe me five bucks."

Francis cursed under his breath but began to fire. Vincent saw a wall break apart and another horde rushed forward. Hope was at the center, tearing at them blade master style. Blood and limbs flew everywhere. Vincent then felt the familiar slimy tongue of a Smoker wrap around him. Louis rushed to help him, but Vincent yelled, "I got him, don't worry!"

Vincent held his ground, and used his strength to yank the Smoker towards him. The Smoker flew through the air, and Vincent headbutted it hard as soon as it landed. It exploded in smoke, and the tongue dropped off of him. The elevator door opened and the group went in. Louis pressed the button to the twenty-eighth floor.

"I hate elevators." grumbled Francis.

"And I hate you. What now." replied Vincent.

He saw Francis almost take a swing at him, but a cold stare from Bill stopped him. Zoey breathed heavily. "I can't get over how FAST they all are, it's not even fair. I'm calling zombie bullshit on that, you know?" Zoey giggled. "They're not...ALLOWED to be so fast." Despite the coldness Zoey shows towards him, Vincent agreed.

"Well what do you expect? Life keeps throwing bullshit at us." he remarked.

They reached the top of the elevator and the door dinged open. The floor looked as if it was still under construction. It was completely empty. "I got a bad feeling about this." commented Louis. Vincent laughed.

"What happened to that good feeling?" he chuckled. Louis merely replied with a grin and they progressed forward until they heard the familiar roars of a Tank. "Stand back, I'll handle this." said Vincent. Everyone but Francis stepped back. "What are you going to do?" Francis asked with a smirk.

The super survivor didn't answer as the Tank came forward to pound them. Vincent slightly stepped back so the Tank was in front of him. It raised its hands to grind the survivor into dust, but Vincent simply punched at its stomach, causing it to once again stagger. It staggered back, then fell over the edge of Mercy Hospital. "Tank fail." remarked Vincent. He turned to Francis, who didn't say anything.

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you?" asked Zoey.

Vincent began to explain, "Don't know. I once mortally injured for a few days, but a man named Chicago Ted fixed me up. He must've done something else too since I'm far stronger than I used to be."

Bill gave him a pat on the back. "Whatever it is kid, I'm glad your on our side."

The super survivor smiled in respect of the veteran then they moved through the various metal bars throughout the floor. The Tank was the only infected on the floor, as they wandered around for five minutes searching the way to the rooftop. After mindless wandering, Hope spotted a light and pointed at it frantically with her blood covered claws. Vincent looked in her direction. "Safe room!" he exclaimed. He ran, and heard the familiar sounds of a horde.

"Oh come on!" he cried out as he and the other survivors fired their guns. Vincent felt himself being shoved to the side as Hope shoved past all of them and tore up the horde. Francis raised his weapon to fire, but Bill stopped him and yelled, "No Francis! She knows what she's doing." And he was right. Muscle and gore flew splattered the walls, and it took Hope no less than a minute to decimate the horde completely. When they was all annihilated, she walked towards Vincent, covered completely in blood, and fell into his arms. Vincent wrapped his arms around the bloody warrior and turned to the other survivors. "Come on, let's get in." he merely said. They got in and shut the door.

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The survivors, badass survivor, and blood covered maiden sat down on the floor, exhausted by the journey. Vincent opened his backpack and tossed a bottle of water to each of the Survivors. For Hope, he tossed a bag of sugar, which she dove into hungrily. He couldn't help but notice Zoey's curiosity in Hope's like of sugar. For himself, Vincent popped open a bottle of soda and drank heavily from it. He heard Francis' sarcasm, "Why do we get water and you get soda?"

Vincent smiled, "Because I'm the dude who carries shit." Francis shrugged and continued drinking. When they finished, they threw the bottles into the trash. Hope finished the bag and did the same.

"I'm exhausted." said Zoey.

"We'll rest then we'll escape this godforsaken place." decided Bill. The survivors began to lay on the ground and go to sleep.

Vincent laid down next to Hope, who stroked his hair with her claws. "You should also get to sleep." he whispered to her.

Hope wrapped her left claw around Vincent's shoulder then went to sleep on his chest. Vincent gently stroked her beautiful white hair and fell asleep himself. Once again he was plunged into another dream.

"Well, I met the girl." he said in the darkness.

His younger self stepped forward. "So you have. But, in the end, will you make the right decision to redeem yourself? Time is running out, so decide quickly."

Vincent expected more, but his younger self retreated into the darkness. "Wait. What do you mean? Tell me!" he screamed.

But all was dark and Vincent felt alone until he felt a tug. He turned around and saw Hope behind him. "Open your eyes." she whispered. He did and woke up.

Louis stood above the pair. "Dude, you were talking in your sleep. You okay?" he asked.

Vincent sighed, then reassured him, "Yeah. Bad dream. Are we going to go now?"

"Yeah. I was going to wake you up but it seems your girlfriend beat me to it." he chuckled.

Hope turned red at the word girlfriend, but she smiled shyly at Louis. Louis offered a hand to Vincent and he took it. "Let's kick some ass." he grinned.

"Hey I was about to say that!" yelled Francis.

"Well he beat you to it." chuckled Bill.

Vincent expected sarcasm from Zoey, but she just fixed him with an uncomfortable stare.

The group opened the safe room door to the rooftop. Bill groaned at the sight of more stairs, which caused Francis to chuckle. They went up, knocked down a single lone infected and progressed through the hallway. "Damn. Long hallway with awkward silence. Scary." commented Vincent.

He heard the banging of a door and a horde came out a side passage in front of the group. They opened fire and Hope sliced up any that came too close. Vincent depleted two clips before the horde was decimated. The six rounded the corner to an elevator shaft. Bill spotted a ventilation opening to the right and beat it open. They crouched through and climbed up a ladder to the left. Vincent looked at Hope who held up her claws. She couldn't climb up. "Hang on." Vincent said. He wrapped his arms around Hope and leapt with his new abilities.

Hope slightly gasped when they landed on solid ground again. "Don't let go. We're going again." the super survivor smiled. He jumped again, higher this time, and landed on the rooftop.

Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey climbed up and joined with them on the rooftop. Vincent heard a radio nearby. "Great, we can call for evacuation and maybe escape this hellhole." he smiled.

"I agree. Let's go." said Bill. They dropped down onto a helipad and shot several idle infected. They entered the building with the radio. "Hello?" asked Vincent.

"You made it!" said a voice over the radio. "All you got to do is hold out until I get there. But first, you need to prepare. There should be a mounted gun and supplies to help you. Call me back once you've prepared. News chopper five out." The survivors ran to the top of the small building and saw a minigun.

"Damn, I'm so using this." said Francis. Everyone chuckled, even Hope.

"Alright. Vincent, can you go down there and tell him we're ready?" asked Bill.

The badass survivor nodded and went downstairs. "We're ready."

"Alright I should be there in fifteen minutes." came the reply. Vincent ran back upstairs and they began to battle incoming hordes.

Francis dealt with any in the front and Vincent could see the others covering the sides. Hope covered the back; killing any infected that attempted to sneak up on them. After a few minutes of defending, Francis remarked, "This isn't so bad."

No sooner than he finished those words, Vincent saw not one, but _two _Tanks coming at the Survivors.

Francis fired the minigun at one of the Tanks and killed it, but the second one reached the building and went up the stairscase. Hope sliced at it with her claws, but the Tank ruthlessly punched her off the building. "Hope!" Vincent cried.

He went into a fury and began beating the Tank with the stock of his AK-47. "You..." he said as he continued whacking it. "Son of a..." The Tank tried to resist the vicious melee attacks but to no avail. Mindless fury fueled Vincent, making his attacks more stronger. The Tank was actually bleeding. "Bitch!" Vincent roared and jumped high in the air, and smashed his AK-47 into the tiny head of the Tank. The gun instantly broke, but it killed the Tank.

The fury soon left Vincent and he ran over to Hope. He examined her, but she got to her feet. "I'm okay, just bruised." she winced quietly. They sprinted back up the stairs.

"Here take these." said Louis. He tossed Vincent a pair of pistols, who looked back in gratitude.

"Time to kick ass, akimbo style." he grinned.

They fended off more oncoming hordes. Vincent saw a massive horde gathering to the right and everyone focused fire there. The radio downstairs rang, "News Chopper Five will be there in five minutes."

Another Tank rushed at the Survivors, and everyone focused their fire on it. The Tank tore a chunk of rock off the ground, but Vincent quickly used his enhanced reflexes to put a single bullet at its head, which caused it to drop the rock on itself and kill it. "I'm impressed." chuckled Bill.

The helicopter came. It hovered to the side of the helipad. "GET TO THE CHOPPA!" screamed Francis. Bill, Zoey, and Louis followed Francis to the copter. Vincent took Hope quickly in his arms and jumped above the horde. They were the first to get in the chopper, and Vincent provided covering fire. The infected knocked the guns out of Bill, Louis, and Zoey, but they got on, and the copter took off. "We're safe!" cried out Zoey.

Suddenly, the copter jerked. "What the fuck?" cursed Vincent. He looked over and saw a Tank hanging on to the copter. He looked at everyone and they looked back and realized what he was going to do. "Kid, I'd stop you, but I'm pretty sure nothing is going to change your mind." said Bill.

"Damn straight." replied Vincent.

Louis patted Vincent hard on the back, his face grim. "Dammit man, I'm going to miss you. Just remember you are be the most badass dude I'll ever know."

Vincent shook Louis' hand. It was Francis' turn to speak. Vincent may hate him and there was an ensuing chaos around them, but he would listen to his words. Francis grinned, and to the survivor's surprise, handed him his auto shotgun. "Kick some ass for me will you?" he asked.

Vincent grinned. "You fucking bet." He turned to stare at Zoey, who was crying softly. "I'm sorry for everything I said." she cried. "You really have changed, sacrificing yourself for us."

Zoey approached Vincent and hugged him tightly. Despite the shaking, they held it for a moment.

Whereas Zoey was crying, Hope was weeping extremely deeply. Vincent gripped her tightly. "Be safe, my friend."

He was not the type of person to cry, but Vincent could feel a few tears drop from his eyes. He approached the door. The Tank reached a muscly arm towards them. The pilot looked out of the cockpit. "If you're going to jump, do it now."

Vincent sighed, took one last look at the group of five, then tackled the Tank back down to the rooftop. The Tank roared in pain when it hit the ground, and knocked Vincent back. He hit a metal wall pretty hard. Stars wheeled around his eyes. The hordes held back, as if wanting to watch a grueling match between the Tank and the super survivor. The copter began to fly away, but before it could, Vincent saw a figure jump out and land behind the Tank with a thud. The Tank wheeled up in pain, and Vincent saw the familar claws of Hope go through it.

"Hope!" he cried out in mixed anger and relief. The Tank died, and Hope rushed to Vincent, smothering him with kisses and tears. "I'm not going to leave you." she cried out. Vincent stared as she spoke in normal volume for the first time then gripped her tightly. The horde slowly approached them, surrounding them. Vincent picked up Francis' auto shotgun and Hope got up to cover his back. "Well...Let's kick some ass.' he smiled grimly at the odds.

The horde charged.


	8. Chapter 8: Passing

**Author's Notes:**_ Sorry for the long wait. School is a real pain right now but I finally found some time to post the next chapter. For people who play Left 4 Dead 2, try the Lone Gunmen mutation before Friday if you want a massive challenge. I played it and had a lot of fun, except for fighting the tanks with only a magnum. Kudos to Valve though for giving me an exhilarating gaming experience I have not had since Last Man on Earth. Anyways back to this story. Please read and review. I could really use the feedback. _

**Disclaimer:**_ After grueling pains, I own Left 4 Dead now mwhahahaha. *Sniper fire flies in through my house* What the-! *Hiding* Huh. Seemed to stop now. *Phone flies in through window ringing* Weird. What's this? Oh. What? Thats-! Ugh. Never mind. Valve just took Left 4 Dead back. Why do they get highly trained snipers...  
_

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Chapter 8: Passing

"I'm so tired of these goddamn infected fucking us up all the goddamn time." screamed Vincent. He fell into a wild fury as horde after horde of infected poured onto the rage-filled survivor and his silver companion.

Hope screeched and rushed forward to attack, but Vincent was faster. Tossing his gun to the side, Vincent jumped thirty feet into the air and landed into the middle of the hordes. Hope stopped in her tracks, but before she could cry out to Vincent, she saw bodies covered in blood being flung into the air. Vincent remorselessly attacked the infected, knocking them into the air like they weighed nothing and snapping limbs as if they were paper. A smoker stood on higher ground and wrapped its tongue around Vincent. Its attempt to strangle him miserably failed. The furnace of rage pulled the smoker effortlessly off the building, tore off the tongue, then strangled it with its own tongue. A hunter attempted to pounce Vincent, but he simply turned, dodged, and kicked it so hard, Hope heard the snapping of its spine. A tank stood at the back of the hordes and charged towards the relentless survivor, knocking infected out of its way to reach its target. Vincent turned, staring at it with firey eyes. Despite his rage, he managed a small smile. "Alright you big son of a bitch, it's on now."

No sooner than he finished his words, the tank launched a deadly punch at Vincent. Raising his own fist back, the survivor met the blow with his own force. The impact of the two earth-shaking blows sent shockwaves flying through the air. Infected flung off the building like flies. Hope was also raised in the air, but miraculously landed against a wall. She watched at the two powerful beings in amazement. Suddenly, the tank's arm exploded into a shower of blood, sending gore at the triumphant survivor. Vincent did not react as Hope slowly got up, and walked towards him. She gasped slightly when a single tear fell out of Vincent's closed eyes. Slowly, he murmured, "We were so close."

Hope put a hand on his shoulder. "We can't give up now." she insisted. "You are the one who gave me hope, the one who inspired me to keep going no matter what, the one...that I love."

Vincent opened his eyes as Hope kissed him slowly on the lips. "Come on." she whispered. "I can already hear more on the way."

He slowly nodded, but motioned to her to wait. Vincent ran into the building with the radio, unplugged it quickly, and ran outside. He picked up his AK-47 and grabbed Hope by the waist. Jumping high into the air, he landed on the opening to the rooftop. The pair climbed down the ladder, crawled through the small opening, and sprinted down the hallway towards the safe room. Hope went through first, and Vincent went in and shut the door behind him. He sat down in weariness and sweat, exhausted from the earlier battle. Hope sat down next to him. For a long time they sat in silence. Then Vincent broke the silence. "So you can speak normally now?" he asked.

Hope smiled and embraced Vincent. "Yes I can. And there's more. I remember my life before all of this happened."

He stared at her in shock, then asked another question, "Do you remember your name too?"

Hope replied, "It is unimportant, my past that is, but my name before all of this...was Sabrina. You can call me that if you want."

She wrapped an arm around Vincent and fell asleep. The tired survivor felt sleep beginning to engulf him too, but the name was stuck in his head. "Sabrina." he whispered before he was fully asleep.

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Vincent slept dreamlessly until he felt something sharp prodding against him. He woke up drowsily to find Sabrina smiling slightly at him. "Come on. We still need to escape from here. Any ideas?"

The still-tired survivor realized he still had the radio and picked it up. "When we get to the bottom floor and into that safe room, I'll see if I can find help with this." he explained. "Our chances are low, but it's our best bet."

Sabrina nodded then helped him up. Vincent picked up his backpack and AK-47, then opened the safe room door. He quickly scanned the maze of unfinished walls he, Sabrina and the other four survivors passed through earlier. "Okay, let's see if I can remember where to go." he thought. Slowly, the duo walked into the maze while staying wary of any lingering infected. After about ten minutes, Vincent spotted the elevator. "Come on, we're almo-" he began before Sabrina grabbed him and held a claw over his mouth. The startled survivor struggled in her strong grip, but stopped when she pointed out the waving arm of a waiting tank. He realized that she had saved both of their lives with her keen eye. The tank could have knocked them both off the building if they were not careful. Sabrina let go of the careless survivor, and gave him a "I'll be right back" look. To his surprise, she began to cry then walk slowly towards the tank's hiding spot. When she disappeared from Vincent's view, he heard a screech, then a roar, then the sound of pounding and the shredding of claws. Blood sprayed out of the hiding place as well as the tank's body. Sabrina stepped over the body, covered in blood and grinned.

Vincent had to chuckle at the move. They entered the elevator and Vincent pressed the button for the fourth floor. As the elevator descended, the survivor began to think about all that has happened. Before he could get very far, the elevator abruptly stopped on the sixteenth floor and the lights flashed and blinked out. "Great." muttered Vincent. "Do you think you could cut us a way out of here, Sabrina?"

She shook her head. "My claws are sharp, but not sharp enough to cut through _that._" she pointed at the door with amusement.

"Okay then, stand back." motioned Vincent.

He took a deep breath, then pounded on the door. The blow left a huge mark on it. Vincent pounded again and again. His final blow sent the door flying through a hallway of infected and hit a wall far away. "Ha, that knocked out all the infected in this hallway."

They stepped into the hallway full of bodies. Vincent noticed a red door to the side that attracted his attention. "Hey look, another safe room." he smiled. He took one of Sabrina's claws and they walked towards it together. The survivor tried to open it, but it was locked. "Is someone there?" asked a scared little voice.

Vincent's heart nearly leaped out of him when he heard the little voice. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Yes. I'm not infected. I'm human like you. Trust me. Me and my friend here are tired and we would apreciate it if we could come in and rest."

There was no response and for a second, Vincent thought of leaving. But the door slowly creaked open and the hand of a little girl motioned at them to come in. Vincent was the first one in, and then Sabrina also came in. He saw a little girl standing in the corner. Suddenly, he heard a familiar growl. "A hunter!" exclaimed Vincent. Before he could react, the hunter leaped onto Sabrina. The battle-ready survivor moved to help her, but was stopped when familiar claws grasped his throat and he heard a hiss, "Move, and you both die. Now I will ask, and you will answer. Who are you?"

Vincent gulped, and felt the claws squeezing him a bit harder. "Okay okay, loosen your grip a bit first though." he requested. Vincent felt the claws loosen their grip slightly. Taking a breath, he began to explain, "My name is Vincent. The witch on the ground is Sabrina. We are survivors trying to find our way through this hellhole. We were with a group of four and we were all about to escape, but me and her had to sacrifice ourselves to save the others. We were coming back down when the elevator stopped and we got the door open."

There was a long pause. Then there was the hiss, "You're lying."

The survivor felt himself grow hot with anger. "Why the fuck would we need to lie!" he exploded. Vincent didn't wait for a response. Instead, he ducked under and elbowed his kidnapper squarely in the stomach. He aimed his AK-47 at his downed would-be killer. He gasped slightly. His holder was a witch. However, she did not look like the typical witch. She wore a tattered doctor's coat and a long skirt. She had the familiar claws of a witch and glared angrily at Vincent. The survivor heard the hunter behind him scream. Then to his surprise, it began to speak, "Let her go and I'll release your friend here."

Vincent stared at the hunter, then at the downed witch. Slowly, he dropped his gun to the floor. He heard Sabrina gasp slightly as the hunter released her. The witch got up and brushed herself off with her claws. She actually smiled slightly at Vincent. "So you got a radio eh?" the witch remarked. "My name is Sarah, this is my friend Josh here," she motioned to the hunter. "And poor little Alice here," she pointed at the little girl still huddled in the corner. "We've been trying to find a way out for awhile, but it's been hard since we need to protect her. She's all I have left. She's my little sister."

The survivor listened to her, and pitied her. This motley group reminded him alot of him and Sabrina. Continuing explanations from the witch broke him from his thoughts. "Josh here is a good friend of mine. He took Alice here to get checked up while it was my shift. That's when the infection hit. I felt rage and fire consume me. When I woke up, Alice was standing in a corner, clutching her head in fear. I recognized her, but she didn't recognize me since I changed. I looked in a mirror, and well, you know what I saw. Josh also changed, but he must have also recognized us because he didn't attack us. We found this safe room and we've been surviving ever since. We just ran out of food yesterday though. Alice is hungry and scared."

Vincent unzipped his backpack. "Well your in luck." he grinned. "I have a shitload of food in here and ever since I've gotten...well...believe it or not...superpowers," he grinned sheepishly. "I think I don't ever need to eat again for some reason. I don't feel any hunger anymore."

Alice gasped at Vincent's food offerings and walked up to him. The generous survivor set the backpack down and ruffled her hair a bit. "Eat while you can. You'll find a lot of things you'll like. I'm going to see if I can find a means of escape." he smiled. He nodded to Sarah who nodded back, then to Sabrina, then to Josh, who merely snorted in contempt. The determined survivor hooked up the radio to a nearby outlet and began broadcasting for help. "Sit tight." he said to the others. "This will probably take awhile."

Indeed it did. Five hours passed. Alice was happily curled up sleeping with Sabrina. She had taken a liking to the witch and they were both snoring soundly. Sarah simply sat on the floor, watching Vincent as he broadcasted for help. Josh was curled up like a cat, snoring as loud as a tornado. Vincent felt his eyes also flutter in exhaustion, but he kept going. "My name is Vincent. I am a survivor in Mercy Hospital. It has been overrun and my group and I need transportation out of there. Is anyone there? Please respond." he pleaded.

After another hour of repeating, Vincent impatiently threw down the headset. Groaning, he was about to go to sleep until he heard a voice from the radio. "Hello? I heard your call and I can get over there in about an hour. Your going to have to clear the area at the bottom though. They're going to swarm as I come in."

Almost instantaneously, Vincent rushed forward and quickly responded, "Okay. My group and I are on the sixteenth floor of Mercy Hospital. We will hold out at the bottom floor until you can come."

The revigoured survivor quickly woke up Sabrina, who rubbed her eyes sluggishly. He was about to wake Josh until Sarah lightly shoved past him and woke Josh up. "He doesn't like you." she explained. Vincent thought he heard a glimmer of amusement in her voice. He put on his backpack and threw the leftovers of the food Alice had eaten into a nearby trash bin. Sabrina gently woke up Alice while Vincent put the radio into his backpack. "Okay. I found help. Transportation will arrive in an hour. We just need to find a way down." he explained.

"Well the elevator you guys came from is busted." pointed out Sarah. "But I found another one while me, Josh and Alice hung here. Should we take that one?"

Vincent gave a nod of agreement, and opened the safe room door. Sarah stepped in front of him and led the way. Vincent held his AK-47, wary for any infected. Alice rode on Sabrina's shoulders, still sleeping lightly while Josh walked at the rear. The trip was short and held very few infected which were cut down easily by Sarah. They reached the elevator and bunched up. "When I press this button, they're going to swarm at us." cautioned Sarah.

Vincent chuckled, and the survivor reassured her, "I already know. Besides, I've fought loads of infected before by myself. We'll be fine."

"Well I hope you can back up your words, because here they come." retorted Sarah.

No sooner than she pressed the button, a horde of infected ran down the hallway towards them. Vincent opened fire with his AK-47, tearing off limbs and spraying blood all over the walls. No sooner than the last one dropped his gun made a click. The survivor jammed a clip into it as fast as he could, but a wall burst open nearby to reveal a fresh horde of infected. They rushed at Sabrina who fended them off with a claw. "She can't fight that well while holding Alice." Vincent realized.

Josh leaped into the middle of the horde and began clawing at each infected, ripping out their guts. The infected ignored him and continued clawing at Sabrina with their cold gray hands. Sarah also rushed into the fray, shredding them much more easily than Josh. Vincent quickly looked around and found a Molotov on the ground. As another horde of infected rushed down the hallway, Vincent threw the molotov. The flames ignited, blocking off their passageway and burned every single infected. However, the fires slowly inched closer to the group. "Any more bright ideas?" mocked Josh.

Vincent barely had time to glare at him before the doors opened. They rushed in and Sarah quickly pressed the button to the first floor as the fire reached the door. As the elevator descended, no one said a word. Then Alice suddenly woke up and sneezed. Everyone turned and looked at her. Vincent then laughed. Laughed at the fact that he met another group of people. Laughed at how he had defied death over and over. And then to his surprise, Sarah began to laugh. Then Sabrina, and finally even Josh did. Their laughter filled the elevator. Alice simply gave a small smile and hugged onto Sabrina. The door opened as they coughed and wipe a few tears from their eyes. "Okay, this looks familiar. I think the safe room me and Sabrina slept in when we first got here is to the left." guessed Vincent.

Indeed he was right. The safe room where Vincent and Sabrina had met Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey was right there. They went in and locked the door behind them. Wasting no time, they opened the other door and went outside of Mercy Hospital. They stood by themselves in the middle of the empty plaza. "Well, they're going to come in about three...two...one." joked Vincent as he looked at his blood-stained watch.

They had used fifteen minutes to get here and now have to hold out for fourty five. The survivor heard the familiar screech of the infected. Suddenly, hundreds of infected descended upon them. "Screw my gun. I can't mow down this much infected with it." mumbled Vincent.

He threw his AK-47 to the side. Ignoring the shock of Josh and Sarah, he leaped high into the air and landed in the middle of the infected with a ground-shaking thud. "Told you I have superpowers." grinned Vincent. He began tearing the horde apart as they changed targets to only him. The majority was targeting him, but several hordes still rushed at Sabrina, Alice, Josh, and Sarah. The two witches and hunter clawed at any that rushed at them. "As long as there's no tank, they should be fine." thought Vincent as he pummeled more infected into little more than blood piles.

No sooner than he thought that, the super survivor heard the roar of a tank. "Motherfucker." he cursed. A car hurled through the air at Vincent. He tried to dodge, but there were too many infected for him to move. Realizing he had no choice, he caught it. "Damn... this shit... is... heavy." grunted Vincent. He felt cold dead hands pound at him and the broken teeth of several infected sink into him. Gasping at the fresh pain, he managed to throw the car back at the tank. It landed squarely on its chest and knocked it to the ground, dead from the force of impact. He glanced back at his friends, but there were too many infected around him to see. Fighting ferociously for his life, he still had time to see how much longer they had to hold out. "Thirty goddamn minutes." he sighed.

Suddenly, there was an explosion near him. Vincent turned towards the direction it had came from and saw the familiar figure of Chicago Ted. "Ted!" he managed to cry out.

"Hey kid," he chuckled. "Looks like you could use some help. I see you discovered what I gave you. My turn to show off."

Chicago Ted threw aside a grenade launcher and leaped even higher into the air than Vincent and unleashed a blood-curdling cry. The infected looked up as he landed and all infected that was beneath him turned into blood. If Vincent was efficient at using his powers, Chicago Ted was far better. He delivered faster and stronger blows than the younger survivor and also had the advantage of freshness, compared to Vincent's sluggish and weary form. The two super survivors fought back to back, seemingly unstoppable. Another tank appeared and rushed at Ted. It aimed a punch, but Chicago Ted simply intercepted it, grabbed the meaty fist, then slammed the tank into the ground hard enough to shake it. Slowly, they inched towards Vincent's friends and they stood in the middle of the two survivors. "Nice to meet you, pretty lady." grinned Ted.

Sarah flashed a smile before focusing back on shredding the infected. A hunter leaped at Alice, but Josh quickly intercepted it with a pounce. The two hunters tore each other up, but Josh had the element of surprise. Ripping its guts out, Josh picked up its body and swung it like a club at the infected. Even with them fighting valiantly, the infected continued to pour onto them. Time was passing and Vincent wondered where their evacuation was.

As if an answer to his prayers, an even bigger explosion landed near the group and killed dozens of infected at once. They all turned to see a huge army tank rumbling towards them. A voice began to broadcast from it, "Goddamn y'all. Am I late for the party?"

Ted and Vincent laughed, but at the same time, a colossal figure appeared from across the plaza. It looked like a combination of all the current special infected they had fought. It was a tank about thirty feet high. Long claws were at the end of its meaty arms. A long tounge hung out from its mouth with boomer bile dripping off of it. The hybrid gave a chilling roar and rushed at the group. Vincent looked at Ted and immediately recognized the look. "Sorry kid. But you and the others have to keep on going without me. That is one big son of a bitch even for you. Only I can stop it." smiled Ted sadly.

Vincent didn't react as Chicago Ted begin to push the group up the tank and into the hatch. "I promise you'll see me again." said Ted solemnly.

Alice attempted to reach out to him, but Sabrina held her tight. They quickly knocked off the infected attempting to climb up the army tank as the hybrid tank rushed at them. Climbing into the hatch, Vincent finally reacted. "Give it hell." was his last words to Ted. Chicago Ted quickly nodded, closed the hatch and leaped at the hybrid tank. Inside the tank, Vincent saw Josh, Sarah, Sabrina and Alice already settled down. Alice was crying, with Sabrina and Sarah attempting to comfort her. Josh simply stood silently. A voice from the driver's area reached their ears, "My name is Jeff. Sorry about your loss but we have to get out of here NOW."

The tank lurched forward and rumbled down a nearby street with the infected giving chase. A barricade blocked off any further access, but the tank's cannon boomed and blew it to smithereens. Driving through the fire and metal, the infected giving chase were lit on fire. Once they were safely away from Mercy Hospital, the sounds of the fighting between Ted and the hybrid still heavy, Vincent finally began to speak, "We got away, but only after losing another friend, this time the one who gave me the power to survive. How many more will I have to see fade away?"

He felt tears drip down his eyes, but he quickly covered them up. Sabrina sat down next to him and hugged the survivor tightly.

.

* * *

.

Chicago Ted knelt down on the ground, exhausted and wounded. Age had taken its toll on him, and the hybrid tank still stood strong with energy. It roared and launched a deadly clawed fist at Ted. Too tired to retaliate, he only managed to dodge it in time. The infected held back, as if afraid of the tank's presence. Ted spit out some blood and smiled. 'I can't die yet," he thought. "I made a promise to a friend after all."

The tank shot out its long tongue, attempting to wrap Ted in its strong grip, but the wily survivor quickly side-stepped and grabbed it. Moving quickly, he leaped behind it and attempted to strangle it with its own tongue. The attempt failed miserably. The tank cut it off then turned and vomited on Ted. "Agh no!" he gasped.

The infected that had been watching ran towards Ted. But he had other ideas. Leaping onto the tank's head, he hung on tight. The infected began to climb up on the tank to reach the old man. The hybrid swung its fists wildly, attempting to get the infected off of it. During the process, it wounded itself with its own deadly claws and was now bleeding heavily.

Ted backflipped off of it and the two stood still for awhile. The tank then roared and charged at him. The exhausted survivor made one final effort and leaped at it. Using his last reserves of stanima, he aimed a precise blow to its head. The survivor's fists hit its mark. The blow of it shattered the head of the tank. It flailed around wildy, headless. But before he could get away, the tank also made a final effort and stabbed its claws through Chicago Ted. Blood splattered to the ground and dripped down the claws as Ted looked down at the wound in shock. Then he smiled sadly. "I'm...dead?" he managed to gasp. "Oh well...This is a good way for me to go out. I'm sorry...my friend...I won't be able to...keep...my promise." The survivor let out a final breath then fell over and passed away.


End file.
